SC dismisses a PIL seeking directions to Govt to implement farm laws

Tribune News Service

Advertisement

New Delhi, October 27

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a PIL seeking directions to the government to implement recently enacted farm laws, saying it can’t issue such a general direction.

“You can’t ask for a general direction to implement a law,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said while rejecting Hindu Dharma Parishad’s PIL that had also demanded banning all protests against the three farm laws.

The Supreme Court had on October 12 issued notice to the Centre on petitions challenging the validity of the farm laws that have triggered protests in various parts of the country, particularly Punjab.

It had the Centre to respond in six weeks to the petitions filed by Chhattisgarh Kisan Congress and others.

There are several petitions against the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020, which were passed by the Parliament and assented to by President Ram Nath Kovind last month.

The petitioners include Congress MP from Trissur in Kerala TN Prathapan, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, RJD MP Manoj Jha and Bhartiya Kisan Party.

In its petition filed on October 5, Bhartiya Kisan Party contended that the new farm laws violated the basic features of the Constitution.

The party submitted that agriculture was a state subject under List II of Schedule VII of the Constitution and therefore, Parliament didn’t have the legislative competence to make laws on the subject.

RJD MP Jha had contended the farm laws were “discriminatory” and would expose marginal farmers to exploitation by big companies.

Siva had submitted the new farm laws would be disastrous for the farming community as they gave an “uneven edge over the farmers’ interest in favour of the sponsor or the farm service provider” while Prathapan said they opened the door for “corporate greed” of multinational companies to trample on the agriculture market.